UCCA Dune: China’s new art gallery inside a sand dune is architectural masterpiece
- The subterranean space joins the world’s ‘loneliest library’ and a striking concrete chapel as standout structures on an otherwise quiet beach in Hebei province
What is it? An art museum hidden beneath a sand dune. Programmed and managed by the Beijing contemporary art foundation UCCA, the museum is housed in a surreal succession of white concrete caves carved within a stretch of ocean dunes. The designers hope their project will raise questions about art, architecture and nature.
Where is it? At the Aranya Gold Coast Community, a seaside resort near Changli, in Hebei province’s Beidaihe district, northeast China. The 300km-or-so trip from Beijing to this part of the Bohai Bay takes about four hours by car, but if you prefer to avoid the inevitably white-knuckle experience, the train from the capital takes just 90 minutes, followed by a 20-minute drive from Beidaihe station.
Why should I travel so far to see art? Since there is no shortage of wild and wonderful art on show in Beijing itself, the canny curators plan to display a series of unusual works that will make the most of UCCA Dune’s unconventional architecture and natural setting.
The inaugural exhibition, “After Nature”, runs until April 4, presenting works by nine Chinese artists engaging with the natural world. Mountains, a specially commissioned piece by Yang Xinguang, features an undulation of low concrete hills set in the sands beyond the Dune.
What else is there to see? UCCA Dune is the third unlikely yet beguiling beachside architectural landmark in the area. Close by are the Seashore Library – a minimalist, two-storey abstract structure with a reading room and unexpectedly serene interiors that became a viral sensation as the “loneliest library in the world” when it was unveiled in 2015 – and the Seashore Chapel, a tiny, steep pitched-roof structure. All are part of the Aranya Gold Coast’s cultural offerings.
